Whitehorse bully bylaw raises concerns
Critics are warning that a proposed bylaw targeting bullies in Whitehorse could lead to racial profiling and infringe on free expression rights.
It’s a quandary that has plagued several jurisdictions that try to proactively stem bullying through legislation before the problem crosses a criminal line.
Russell Knutson, chair of the Yukon Human Rights Commission, said the proposed bylaw appears to trample on both the Constitution and the Canadian Human Rights Act.
“If a bully is defined too broadly and the powers of discretion that are in the hands of enforcement officers are too broad, then you set yourself up for the potential of conflict,” Knutson said.
The first draft of the bylaw defined bullying behaviour as repeated behaviour intended to cause, or that should have been known to cause, fear, intimidation, humiliation, distress or other forms of harm to another person. It also included creating a negative environment and objectionable or inappropriate comments, but excluded “nuisance behaviours.”
Beyond that, it grants an enforcement officer the power to require a person suspected of bullying to produce identification.
Knutson said the practice of random identification checks, or “carding,” can lead to racial discrimination because visible minorities are often confronted more often by enforcement officers. Yukon’s large Indigenous population could be vulnerable to discrimination if the bylaw officer has a bias, he said.
“The likelihood that they will be the primary target is very high, so in that sense, the carding or the racial profiling would probably develop just by sheer numbers,” Knutson said.
Knutson said he has sympathy for any bus drivers and other city staff whose complaints must have led to the proposed legislation. But he said the fix should come from elsewhere.
“You can’t deal with a bully through legislation. You need to rely on education and reform, because the roots of the problem are so deep,” Knutson.
The staff report says groups like the Anti-Poverty Coalition and Bringing Youth Towards Equality felt the bylaw criminalized the bully. It also said those consulted supported an approach that treats both bully and victim, offering thirdparty programs and social services to address underlying issues.
Communities in Alberta with bylaws that address bullying include Grand Prairie, Edmonton, Consort and Rocky Mountain House.
In Regina, there were no convictions in the first nine years after a bully bylaw was introduced, until two high school students were charged in 2015.
Councils in both Halifax and Saskatoon have considered adopting anti-bullying bylaws, but declined.